Ref. 14792/2THOUSANDS of schoolchildren enjoyed a three-day weekend after last week's icy blast sent temperatures plummeting and left Trowbridge colder than Moscow.

Nearly 3,000 pupils were given the day off on Friday after arctic conditions forced some west Wiltshire schools to close.

As the icy grip took hold on Thursday night, 5cm of snow was recorded in Trowbridge and night time temperatures dropped to a winter low of 7.2 degrees centigrade.

The freezing conditions meant that Trowbridge was colder than Moscow in Russia and Helsinki in Finland and 11 schools, including Kingdown Secondary School in Warminster, Westbury Leigh and Longmeadow in Trowbridge, were forced to close. Angela Reeves, headteacher at Sambourne Primary School in Warminster, said: "We closed because the roads were so bad and staff weren't able to get in.

"We don't like to close the school but we are responsible for the safety of staff and children.

"The conditions were bad on Thursday night and Friday morning but I think the children loved it because they had an extra day to build snowmen."

In total 2,909 children were sent home on Friday.

North Bradley Primary School didn't close but youngsters took part in a snowman building competition.

Headteacher Janette O'Brien said: "We knew the snow wouldn't last very long so we extended playtime. The class that won made a snow woman with ear rings and hair.

"Some of the younger children have never seen so much snow these are things that they will remember and take with them as they grow up."

Despite recording the coldest night this winter, weather experts discovered February began with the mildest front since records began 50 years ago.

Between February 2 and 4 night-time temperatures reached a sweltering high of 11.8 degrees centigrade, which made it the hottest February since 1954 and the warmest month since last September.

Weather expert Geoff Witts said: "It has been a very strange month. People may forget that the first week in February was one of the warmest we have seen in Trowbridge.

"Even though we had the freezing cold front last week, the average temperature for the whole month was still above average."